Gotta Love Houston Weather

Yesterday, it was over 70 degrees here. We could have worn shorts. And today:

That's snow! On a car in our parking lot! Crazy.

My mom and I were discussing today that you know you're from Texas when it's 30-something degrees outside and you just think, "Oh I won't worry about a jacket (or socks and warm enough shoes)...I'll just run to the car and turn the heat on." We just don't have enough of these kind of days to actually take the time to dress appropriately, I guess. Thank goodness for seat warmers!

The most fun I've ever had at an ATM...

Jay and I went to deposit a few checks at the ATM the other night. The Bank of America on Kirby apparently got new ATM machines...and they are magical.

You no longer have to put your deposit into an envelope or use a deposit slip. Instead, you feed the check directly into the machine just as you would put a dollar in a coke machine. The ATM then reads the check and tells you how much it was written for. Amazing!

Jay and I were so amazed and weren't prepared for what happened next: the receipt had miniature scanned images of the 3 checks we deposited!

Besides just being really cool, this is so efficient in so many ways, including decreasing the use of paper. Who comes up with these things!?

Bearded wonder

About every two months or so I always get the "crazy" idea of growing a beard. Honestly it's not as much a conscious effort as it is laziness. I just get tired of shaving frequently and so me and a lot of my friends kind of "trim" for a while. We like the "scruff" look I guess.

But, anyways - I typically get to the point where it's ugly and I think "ok let's try it again" or I just shave.

This last week has been the itchy annoying phase and I don't like it, but I've never really toughed it out all the way. So, at least for now I'm going to try.

I don't really know if I pull the beard off very well - but I figured I have to see it through just so I'll know. Unless it sucks and you know it, but are afraid to tell me.

Here are some pics of my "beard".

Pardon the photography and the lazy eye ;) (Kath/Chris)

I thought I would include a picture of a really nice looking beard.

Done!

I just finished another project. Jay bought me 2 canvases last year for Christmas that have been hanging blank on our walls ever since. On Halloween, I finally started on the big one and just finished:

As seen hanging above the couch:

(It's hanging really high because I had Jay help me put the wire on the canvas and then accidentally painted it up-side-down...I'll eventually move the wire so it hangs farther down.)

Admittedly, it matches absolutely nothing else in our apartment. For those of you who remember/took part in the Walton painting, you understand what an undertaken these "modern pointillism" paintings actually are! To do this, I found a picture of Houston and pixelated it to be made up of .5" x .5" squares and then limited it to 7 colors. Then it's just like paint by number on a canvas that has been divided up into a grid with .5" pixels. It seriously takes forever, though. It would be awesome to get it silk-screen printed onto canvas...

Close up:
From Wikipedia: Pointillism is a style of painting in which small distinct points of primary colors create the impression of a wide selection of secondary and intermediate colors. See? Really like pointillism aided by Photoshop!

Just Read:

Several people have recommended and given me books lately to read. Since being in school, I haven't exactly had a lot of time to read non-school books, but I figured I should get reading so I can return all these books!

I just finished this one that was given to me by a guy I tutor in Data Analysis:

It's a cute little book about leadership/management. Apparently, the three secrets in life can be summed up in squirrels, beavers, and geese. More specifically, the idea is that organizations are more efficient when everyone has a sense of purpose (squirrels), has ownership/control of goals (beavers), and encourages one another (geese).

The guy who gave this to me believes in it so much that he sent an email to our program director to give me "goose honks" (and he actually used those words in the email) for my help with tutoring him. But I will say, I felt good about helping him out just by receiving a little recognition. Guess it works, huh?

My Friends

Good thing Kath and company come here because we don't get out of here enough. Here's our new little friend Lucy:
She's a very sweet little baby who actually likes to be held and snuggled, unlike Hudson when he was a baby. She loves her Hudson and her mama...and tolerated us as well.

Making our cookies. He actually "helps" now, so it's a much messier process:

He's so grown up now. For the first several years of his life, I literally saw him every single day (or just about), so it's weird to only see him incrementally now. He actually let's me hug and kiss on him still...didn't even worry about whether there were lipstick marks or not. He still loves numbers and counting. Little accountant in the making...

Stomach Virus? Food Poisoning?

I hate being sick to my stomach. The nausea, the sweating, the hurling, and the hugging of porcelain. Now imagine you are at a friends house - and your friend is a single musician who doesn't necessarily keep the cleanest bathroom.

Last night was awful. Linz had to come pick me up. I still don't feel that great right now and it's almost 7 p.m.

No matter what I do when I get sick to my stomach it always takes me a long time to recover. Especially with eating.

Being sick isn't fun.

The Lindsay Update:
Ok Jay doesn't even begin to paint the picture here. His friend calls me at 11 to tell me Jay can't make it home and then calls me back a half hour later to come get him.

When I get there, Jay is laying across this nasty toilet that hasn't been cleaned in who knows how long. So we go get him Gatorade...we sit around watching Adult Swim cartoons, Iron Chef, Hook... Jay in the bathroom throwing up the whole time.

Finally at 1, Jay falls asleep on the bathroom floor (which hasn't been cleaned since probably a year before the toilet). So I let him sleep for half an hour in the bathroom and then convince him we can make it home. We take a trash bag along for the ride.

All I could think about when he got into bed last night around 2 was that his skin had touched so many dirty bathroom surfaces and was now touching our sheets. Come to think of it, I think I'll go change our sheets.

Apartment Update

So I had a long talk with our apartment manager.

Without going into detail here is what is happening:

We got a brand new AC unit installed today and next month we are receiving a $200 rebate towards rent.

So remember kids............ sometimes it pays to complain.

Just be nice about it.

Apartments - Ugh

I have literally called our apartment office over 20 times, requested online service, and asked to speak to a manager on four different occasions about our A/C.

Last night was like the 10th night Linz and I have spent sweating in our 85 degree apartment. I am so pissed to say the least. For a long time the A/C unit would leak horribly and before that it didn't work at all when it would break. For the last six months however it will run and stay on, but without cooling. So imagine this: You get up and go to work at 8am and come home to find your unit has been running all day long without cooling. We have had electric bills over $270 in a month for a one bedroom 850 sq. ft. apartment - and obviously when I would notice it wasn't cooling I would turn it off and not just let it run. On five different ocassions it occured while Linz and I were gone for more than a day.

I am talking to a manager today and asking for some kind of a rebate towards next months rent. This is bull shit. What do you think?

Tuesday Top Ten

I've been traveling quite a bit lately...you know that whole silly "find a job" thing. There are certain men in my life (ie Jay and my dad) who are very particular travelers and have little patience for those amateurs who slow them down in the airport. [Sidenote: They would have been so disappointed in me because I actually walked through the metal detector with my cell phone in my pocket on Sunday.] But there really are many annoying things about getting on a plane.

Top ten worse things about flying:

1. Getting to the airport too early - unlike Jay, I'd rather get to the gate right as I should be getting on the plane
2. Airplane smell - second only to charter bus smell
3. Inefficiencies in the security line - People who don't take their shoes off, don't take thier laptops out of their bags, don't know the liquid rules, etc. and hold up the line
4. Having to go to the bathroom on the plane when you're in the window seat
5. Being in the middle seat - there's nowhere to put your head for sleeping (I'm a big plane sleeper)
6. People you sit next to who talk the whole flight - I'm not there to make friends-I'm there to sleep
7. People who carry all their luggage on the plane - the ones who wheel around their over-the-shoulder bags on top of their rolly bags and usually have another purse or brief case in tow...they take forever in the aisles and take too much overhead bin space
8. Turbulence - logically, it makes no sense that a really heavy metal object should get up in the air just by going fast enough and then stay up there - turbulence reminds me of this
9. Paying $15 for a checked bag - not because I have to pay but because it encourages more of #7
10. Bad selection of airport food and beverage - seriously, what kind of airport doesn't have a Starbuck's?

Your Own Super Power?

I'm sure at one point when you were growing up you thought of the "super-power" you wanted most. I know I did. Especially watching superman, batman, spiderman, insert favorite superhero here, I'm sure we all had our favorite and wanted what they had.

I do remember however listening to my sister Leanne explain in detail what became known in the Snider family as "Leanne-Pan". Leanne-Pan was her fictitious alter-ego who could stop time. But, there was a catch. The catch was that she had to touch her index fingers (tip to tip mind you) together above her head without looking. (You should try it - it's not easy) At the time (I was probably somewhere between 12 and 13 I think?) I thought - "what a friggin' waste of a super power" - I thought being "invisible" or the obvious "flying" was the right choice, but being able to just stop time? Stupid... I thought.

Many years later after much thought and retrospect I believe my sister was on to something. Work, sleep, eating, working out, time with family, friends, time to hang out and just relax - we never have enough time! "If only I could stop time" - I thought that to myself one day and I had visions of Leanne-Pan touching her fingers together above her head flash before my eyes.

What would be your super power and why? I'm curious. Kuddos to Leanne-Pan she was on the right track.

Tuesday Top Ten

This week marks the end of the best class I've ever taken. It's a six-week class called "Critical Thought" taught by Leo Linbeck (if you're from Houston, he would be the CEO of the parent company of Linbeck Construction), a brilliant 40-something who teaches at Rice each Fall and at Stanford every Spring. My brother-in-law Chris actually took a class from him while at Stanford and luckily encouraged me to stay in the class despite the reading list we received over the summer with a dozen books on it. Books included everything from "War and Peace" to "An Inconvenient Truth" to "Blink."

These are my top ten favorite things from the class:

1. Uniqueness - The class is unique in both format and content. We go to school each Monday morning for a lecture on a given "theme" (for example, heresy versus genius), turn in a 3-page paper each Wednesday applying the theme to a given topic (for example, poverty), and then meet at his house on Thursday or Friday in small-group seminars to basically debate our stance on the topic. The following Monday, Linbeck applies everything that was discussed back to a business context and then presents the next theme.
2. "Reading" the classics - Though some of us technically "watched," I actually know the plot and could discuss "War and Peace," "Pride and Prejudice," "Othello," etc. and their major themes. Linbeck double-majored in undergrad in engineering and classic literature, so he incorporates these into a business course in a very odd but effective manner.
3. Al Gore lied - (well at least manipulated) "An Inconvenient Truth" is such a half-truth. There is no definitive scientific evidence that humans cause global warming or that it poses an imminent threat to our planet. I will scientifically karate-chop anything you have to say about that. (Global warming was my favorite topic.)
4. Eating dinner at Linbeck's house - Linbeck lives in an awesome house right by Rice that was built in the 1930s. Every week when we meet there, he feeds us. And this week, he's taking all of us plus guests (so literally 50 people) to the River Oak Country Club for a closing dinner. Very fancy.
5. The Mini-UN - Linbeck has 5 kids, 3 of which are adopted from Ethiopa, Guatemala, and Columbia. They range in age from 1.5 to 14, and we eat with them each week at their home.
6. The Ghost Map - This was my favorite read from the class (both for style and content...very interesting).
7. Weekly "Take-Aways" - Take-aways are such a Stanford B-school thing but really are so nice and efficient. One time Chris gave me, Lauren, and Kath take-aways in analyzing what we should get my mother for her birthday.
8. Linbeck drives a hybrid - And his wife drives a mini-van. His shoes look old and worn. I'm pretty sure he wears the same blazer to class every week. The man's got money, but he spends it giving an exuberant amount away to charity, not on anything he owns.
9. I might actually get an A+ - Somewhat shallow, but I still haven't gotten an A+ in grad school. Those are reserved for people like my little Jun who sit at home studying literally all the time. This might be my best chance...
10. Message of humility - Overall, this class was not just about problem-solving but leading an organization with humility.

Dad's TV

I recently visited my family in Little Rock during the second half of our week without power. The first part of the week was spent in Dallas at my wife's sister (Lauren's) house (very cool house I might add).

But, Lindsay was scheduled to attend a conference in Washington D.C. the following weekend to scout companies and look for a job so I decided to go home to Little Rock and see my family in lieu of staying home at our powerless apartment in the heat.

While I was home I played golf and saw one of my sisters and her husband Matt (very cool guy). I arrived in Little Rock on a Wednesday, played golf on the following Thursday and hung out with my mother on friday.

Now friday is the day I am getting around to talking about. A long story short - I had been sarcastically teasing my parents about the horrible television they've had since before I was playing varsity golf. About 6 months ago they called me while they went looking for T.V.'s asking me questions trying to figure out what they wanted. After some suggestions they were bombarded by all of the horrible sales people at Circuit City and of course they gave up their search (way to go electronic store chains!). But, being at home with my newly retired mother with nothing to do gave way to small talk about T.V.'s which then gave way to searching the web, which gave way to talking about purchasing, which gave way to purchasing and picking up.


We started our conversation about T.V.'s around 11am and by 4:30p.m. we had purchased a Panasonic 50" Plasma Flat-screen, Panasonic Blue-Ray 5.1 Digital Surround Sound System, and gotten the HD Cable upgraded along with a properly functioning DVR. My dad left home that morning with a 36" humongous projection RCA black box that even I at 25 with good eye sight had to squint at in order to see clearly - and came home to college football in full HD (broadcast) - we also purchased one of his favorite movies on Blu-Ray (Patriot Games) which of course we watched some of in full 1080P. Amazing.

Way to go Mom and Dad - thanksgiving TV watching just rocketed to a whole new level at the Snider House! Kick ASS!

I think Leanne said it best after seeing that second picture... "D & P are Ballers. Nice set up."

My TV is pretty awesome and their's puts mine to shame.

Mine is below.

Who Says It Takes 21 Days to Establish a New Habit?

Jay and I are not coffee drinkers. I'm the Starbuck's fanatic, and it's for my short non-fat, no-water chai. Not coffee. But a few days ago, I came home from school to this:


This is the espresso machine we got for our wedding sitting in a very prominent location in our kitchen. For those of you who are apartment dwellers, you understand that prominent counter space is reserved for those important appliances that are used on a regular basis. Everything else is stowed away wherever you can make it fit. Jay had rearranged several things in the kitchen so that the espresso machine could be more accessible. He had decided he was now going to be an espresso drinker.

Well today, he was explaining to me that when we move to a "real house and not this fake house," he'd like an area in the kitchen for all his espresso materials to be together. Because right now, he's got the machine in one area, and then across the kitchen (so like 3 feet away) is his "grinding station" (I'm not lying - he really called it that):


If you can't tell, to the left of the stove are four canisters filled with random things (which were previously located where the espresso machine now is) and a little coffee grinder.

And when I refused to try his espresso (because I really despise the taste of coffee), he tells me that we're missing out on a marriage experience because we should wake up every morning and drink coffee together - that's what married people do.

So at this point I say, "Jay...you're telling me that we're going to have a designated area to be a coffee bar wherever we move next and that I'm missing out on our marriage because I won't drink coffee... because you've been drinking coffee now for TWO DAYS?" To which he responds, "No it's espresso, not coffee." Oh, of course.

Tuesday Top Ten

Since being married for a little while now, there are new things I'm learning about Jay, too. Here are 10 things that I like about him:

1. He laughs out loud at commercials - (and in movies, at TV shows, etc) I remember one of our first dates, he leaned over dying laughing at something in a movie and was so disappointed that I hardly smiled (if anyone has seen "Burn After Reading," I am totally the first guy Frances McDormand goes on a date with - emotionless - and Jay is George Clooney). My emotional antithesis, Jay laughs without fail at certain commercial (ex: Bud Light opera commercial), and I find it quite endearing.
   
2. He cleans the bathroom (including the hair out of the drain)
   
3. He is quick to apologize
   
4. He is concerned for my office plant and my lack of watering it - If you think about it, it's good to know that the person who will some day be the father of your children has an accute concern for life and sustaining it.
   
5. He willingly does dishes
   
6. He has good taste in shoes - I've always thought so. And this can be so telling for guys: Is he fun/does he have a sense of humor? Does he clean up nicely? Is he stylish? Is he active? Does he take himself too seriously/can he be laid-back? (See what I mean?)
   
7. He's got a lot of determination
   
8. He is very creative - One of my favorite things is when I come home from school and he randomly composed a song that day.
   
9. When he uses the shaker while playing drums with the other hand and sometimes hits the cymbal with the shaker, yeah, that's for me - When we were dating (so probably about 2 years ago), I went with him when he was playing somewhere. I told him I liked when he used the shaker in one hand while playing with a drumstick in the other hand - it was very tricky. He told me that could be for me. He probably doesn't remember saying it, but I always think "that's for me" when I see him do it.
   
10. He makes me laugh

See, I can blog... But he's right - I'm really not a picture-taker.

My wife - the Linz

Lindsay doesn't really blog much. She doesn't really like to take pictures or make videos. Lindsay really doesn't like to do many of those typical girly things. I say girly but that may or may not be an accurate description of the activities I'm describing. Anyways... I've often noticed that unless I take pictures with her camera when we are on family trips (Italy) or places we go - just the two of us (Jaimaca, San Antonio), we don't really come back with pictures unless I've taken them myself. So I've made a decision to contribute to OUR blog for or about Linz every week at least once.

So... Here goes for Linz today - this is more about linz than from her.

Lindsay is engulfed most of the week in school with projects, papers, and most importantly, looking for a job. One thing I've started to notice in particular with school work is that lindsay is a little bit of an over-acheiver - I'm sure if I told my mother-in-law that she would say "Uh Jay....... duh...hello" mainly because I've been told that many times and mainly because it's true.

I say that because apparently there are still a lot of things I'm learning about my bride. It's like when Lindsay used to play fooseball with me all the time while we dated, but then shortly after our engagement I found my self without a fooseball partner. I distinctly remember asking her one day if she wanted to play a game like our normal routine and she responded "No, I don't really like fooseball." - "Amazing" I thought.

I also remember that she told me about her distaste for fooseball while I was standing in the doorway from the garage to the kitchen at her parents house (the table is in the garage) and Giga and Kath stood there smiling and giggling as they knew the truth the whole time. "It was all a lie" they said - "we knew it wouldn't last" - I was devastated. A year and a few months later and we have only played fooseball maybe twice.

Interesting things you learn about people after longer periods of time. Linz and I really met in lat 2005 at church (I think). So eventhough we have been married for a year and four months there is still a lot to learn about each other.

Lindsay is smart. Practical. Too practical. Almost annoying sometimes, but in a good way. Lindsay is all about "options". She relishes the idea of options. So many different combinations and so MUCH time according to Linz. We did learn one thing about each other early on. That if we both go to IKEA we leave fighting and arguing. I think I'm like most males - we decide what we want before we go to wherever it is we need to go to pick up said item. I say pick up because we make sure it's available before we go. We also know where it is in the store, the best area to park, and the fastest way to that aisle or section in the store. We also have all the necesities to make said purcahse, because we keep our KEYS and WALLET on us at all times. The latter of that list are typically things that aren't necessarily a "must-have", but whatever.

With all that said - and as much as I give her a hard time about some of those things - she is way smarter than me and has saved me countless hours of trips back and forth from place to place and always reminds me the most efficient way to carry out every day activities.

Oh yeah - she also likes to talk with her hands like her father and she doesn't like to talk about her feelings. Those are just FYI's. Ha

I love her.

J

End of Week 5 Training

Since working out with Herschel - things have been going well - to date I have lost 11 lbs which is great, but now comes the second half of his program and the pounds aren't coming off as quickly or as easily. I've had to log all of my meals everyday for the last five weeks - even with the Hurricane. The week right after the storm was difficult due to the lack of power and grocery availability, but that's life. I weigh in tomorrow and our goal is at least 1 lb a week. I actually think I'll be behind in my goal.

I've been voluntarily working out at 8a.m. for four weeks! If some one would have told me I would be doing that last year at this time - I would have said they were crazy.

Linz is working hard to make contacts and find possible job interviews. She has a final interview with Frito-Lay in Dallas near the end of November. I think she really wants that job and it would be a great place to move to.

Anyways - pretty boring stuff. Lata

Movies (small moments away from real-life)

We are most likely about to cancel our blockbuster subscription :( we haven't made a final decision. But, we traded in some online movies for in-store rentals. We are currently watching "Kabluey". Pretty funny.

Check it out.

Working out for real is hard.

So I hired a Personal Trainer................ you are probably either thinking - "you lazy ass" or "waste of money" - which are all valid points - I think it WILL be a waste unless I make sure to be committed and to make the most of it.

His name is Herschel Johnson.


Herschel has trained many professional athletes and celebrities such as Warren Moon and Jeff Bagwell. Herschel is an amazing guy... He is a little shy of 6 feet - and he's pretty much all muscle - not like the huge body builders (even though he has been Mr. Houston twice) but none the less - stacked, ripped, swole, etc. etc.

He is also intense. He's basically been kicking my ass for the last two weeks every morning at 8 a.m. Hopefully he and some strange will-power that is hiding somewhere in my huge gut will help me lose about 25 lbs.

Interesting tid-bits about Herschel - He calls me "Baby-Boy" told me on our first phone conversation that the one thing I needed to rap my head around was that he was going to "change my life" - and after our first workout he told me to enjoy week one and two - because "we ain' goin' to be friends after next week".

He is an incredible encourager - very smart - knows what he's talking about - more importantly he knows the science behind it and he cares.

Designed to Sell? or Designed to Manipulate?

So my wife Linz loves to watch shows like: Designed to Sell and Flip This House etc. etc. Sometime I end up watching. The crazy thing is that these "teams" of people come in and tell you what people are looking for when they are looking at buying a house. Then they attempt to come up with a plan in order to make the "important" things that people look at the most really appealing by very very cheaply dressing things up. Of course with the magic of T.V. they always never spend over their budget and of course they don't ever factor in the cost of labor. Some times they do things that are cool, but most of the time it's all cheap little "cover-ups". 

I think it's crap. What do you think? 

Apple... Do your Job Steve Jobs.

Oh Shit! Someone within Apple out in Cupertino, CA had to have said that in the office at one point or another. I knew that my number one "go-to" company with a great history of efficient machines and support wouldn't last. It was too good to be true. As most of you may or may not know - Apple recently switched their .mac account(s) over to a new feature called Mobile-Me. At the same time they also released the new Apple iphone 3G, iphone software 2.0, and itunes 7.7.

This was a relatively large task that most consumers and Mac users were highly anticipating and now asking "What the hell happened?". I think the shit really hit the fan when AT&T's servers were overwhelmed with thousands and thousands of iphones being activated all within a very small amount of time. Even though AT&T was largely blamed for the iphone fiasco it still made a lot of Mac users a little uneasy.  

Many people with the older iphones tried to update the their phone to the new 2.0 software which turned out less than excited for many users. Most ended up with what they called a $500 functionless "brick" that would turn on, use battery life, but not make calls or anything else useful. Luckily my phone didn't "brick". 

Now onto the Mobile-Me fiasco. Mobile-Me was introduced to act as Apple's version of "Microsoft Exchange". New apple users could purchase a Mobile-Me subscription and the previous system users (.mac) would have their accounts automatically transferred over. This would allow anyone with a Mobile-Me subscription to "seamlessly" sync their iphone, home, personal, and laptop computers together. This was to include calendars, contacts, mail accounts, bookmarks, and apple based web applications such as iweb. Apple also loosely used the word "push" email and contacts which also created a lot of flack. Ultimately a great idea that was disastrously executed. 

I was one of the lucky few once again. My computers and first generation iphone were able to sync together. Mainly and luckily because one of my newer machines (MacPro) has the latest platform (10.5.4) which works best with Mobile Me, even though my older 15" powerbook is running 10.4.11. The only problem I've run into is not being able to publish my new website I've been working on via iweb on my macs.

Other people are experiencing far worse problems. There are many people with mail accounts that no longer work correctly and are being told they need to upgrade platforms in order for their older .mac account to work correctly and be able to switch over to Mobile-Me. That is total bullshit since Mac announced the Mobile Me and previous .mac accounts would seamlessly work with 1o.4.11. 

Apple has pissed a lot of people off including me. It's ironic I was just telling my sister how great a .mac account would be for her this morning and even though I wouldn't use anything but a Mac, I kind of feel a small sense of worry about what's to come of this whole shit storm. 

Way to go Steve - take off your stupid black turtle-neck and get to work. 

Hijacked...because sometimes I think I need a blog

I have hijacked Jay's blog. You see, he leaves me at home alone for long stretches of time when he's in the studio (with phone turned off may I add), and apparently I'm not resourceful enough to just call someone to go do something, but I am resourceful enough to figure out his blog username and password. So I welcomed myself in. And changed all the colors (much better I may add).

And sometimes I just feel like I need a blog (but don't really want to commit to one). Like yesterday - I was thinking about the fact that everyone thinks they can be a photographer. This just seems wrong and worthy of commentary...

Foiled! Jay called and is on his way home. Gotta go.

The Hip/Hop Buzz continues.......

I couldn't really tell what my sister (Leanne) was trying to say about "the club" other than what she experienced personally was much different from what we typically hear "rapped" about in popular songs. Then again I don't know what kind of a club experience the "south" really has to offer. Cancun is one thing, but Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas? I think that Usher is probably talking about some swank place somewhere else. Maybe LA, NYC, Miami? I would have to say other than going to "The Swamp" in Destin, FL - I would agree... but I have seen the wet t-shirt contest, Tone-Loke in concert, and the bubble foam party (that my friends and yours truly) took part in.

I definitely have some musical respect for Jay-Z and a few others in the "rap world" , but as for the hip-hop genre as a whole - I think the newest batch of "artists" are ruining it. Who the f@#$ cares about half the stuff they rap about. Don't get me wrong I'm all about beats, hooky chorus melodies, and dancing at clubs. I write stuff like that all the time for different things ... but the stupid crap they come up with lyrically is so juvenile, chauvinist, so degrading, it's really quite despicable and I believe it's a slap in the face to artists. Which of course brings into question this idea of an artist. I mean come on.... do you think Lil' Wayne has something he really wants to say or get across? Horse-shit!

Call yourself an entertainer, call yourself a performer, but please don't call yourself an artist. I can deal with most of these guys because I think "most" intelligent people have some sense of culture and understand what these guys "really" do. Don't get me wrong - I don't think that Ludacris or Loyd Banks are out to make a political statement... I sure seems like they are mostly concenred with making a ton of money (showing it, spending it, and living for it) and showing all of us what kind of shit they have in their refrigerators on MTV's cribs... AND... I'm totally fine with that. There are a lot of hip/hop songs that I like and enjoy listening to despite the lack of integrity in the lyrics. Being a drummer, producer, songwriter, and programmer I can appreciate the production and work that goes into these songs. I just also know that they mean shit in the grand scheme of timeless music. I know what those guys and gals are about and hopefully most others do, but there are a few who really use that term "artist" very loosely and that just pisses me off. And yes.... I know what you are thinking - there are plenty of non-hip/hop "artists" that do the same thing just in a different vein. Take for example all of the big hair bands of the eighties. To save some breathe... DIDO to them too.

I may "paint" shit at home with my little midi keyboard on my computer, but I'm painting. I'm not showing up to the studio to figure out a way to come up with the next best catchy sexual innuendo or attempting to coin the newest narcissistic phrase. I'm playing and writing music because that's what I do it's a part of me and at heart it's really who I am. I would definitely consider the guys who come up with all the music for these morons artists. It takes some serious talent to produce a hip/hop record these days and the really good songs are so tight. For instance... 50 cents "candy shop", "in da club", "disco inferno" those are some musically tight songs. I like and enjoy listening to them, but the integrity of the music, the way those "artists" are portrayed, and the way the songs get written are so messed up. My personal analogy would be like making an amazing statue or sculpture that looks incredible, was molded, shaped, and refined into something amazing and then having a drunk, doped up, degenerate take a massive dump on it.

The crazy thing about all of this... I still listen to it. I'm just as guilty as the next person. I don't go out and buy the next Big Mike album, but I also haven't deleted the spring break playlist I purchased back in 04' either. It's definitely messed up.

We need more Garfunkels, more RUN DMC's, more Beastie Boys (for the most part), more Etta James, more Bob Dylans.

4th of July, inventions, and harrison ford

Did you know that USA Today lists Belton, TX as one of the top ten places in America to celebrate the fourth of July? I didn't know that, but I do now... and guess what? I'm here right now. 

Jared Johnson (CMT's Can You Duet - Contestant/Brother-in-Law) played a show last night in Temple at The Duckhorn Tavern. 

On a completely different note... I am trying to invent something in order to secure my financial future. I'm not really "banking" on the invention thing - I just figure if guys like Tom from myspace and the "geniuses" at facebook can create websites that pretty much make people less efficient all day long.... then I can invent something worth more than a couple of hours a day wasted. By the way... I have a myspace and a facebook page - I'm a hypocrite, but I'm trying to create something else. 

My latest thought has been a new design for microphone stands. Typical stands are always moving and falling over. I just tried to think of something that has always bothered me and how I could make it better. Kind of like the guy from Dyson that invented the new kind of hand dryer you are probably seeing more and more of inside commercial restrooms.

P.S. and totally unrelated... has anyone ever seen Harrison Ford in an interview or on one of the late shows? He is so weird. Creepy.

Finally

Sometimes when you play music for a few years trying to make something of yourself you catch a small break. 

I have to say the first time I ever hear

d a great record with amazing drums I was hooked, and from that day on I wanted to get to play on a record like that. 

Well.... that day came in February of this year and I'm just now getting to hear some rough mixes of what is to come and I am so happy. 

The artist is Aaron Wagner. He calls Weatherford Texas home and his album is almost finished. 

New Song on the myspace

Wrote a new one today... Check it out.... maybe one day the songs will have words.

www.myspace.com/thesnig

Idle Hands

I don't know about you, but when I sit around all day I tend to do things that are completely worthless. Last week was nice because I had a job every day. I was in Palacios Texas. It's not that great of a place overall, but when you are with friends it can be fun. The Zach Hendricks Band played a camp. Camp went well and we all had a good time. Now it's back to the normal flow. My calender is pretty open which can be good and bad at the same time. Nothing on the calender means nothing coming into the bank account. I need to find some work.

J

Superbad and the New Machine

Superbad is totally Crass.... somewhat funny..... but crass..... ok it's really funny but super crass....

The new computer is great. I just got it today - and spent the day setting it up. I worked on a new song today and Linz and I finished it for the most part. I tried to put it up on my myspace - but it takes a long time to upload a song. www.myspace.com/thesnig

Little Rock was fun. Linz and I went for the last weekend to surprise my mom for her retirement brunch. I played golf this last weekend and shot 38 on the front nine. I was pretty proud considering I play less than 20 times a year.

Ok so superbad is SO Crass - I am watching it right now and was just shocked.....phew.....

Going to bed soon...

Five O 50

I let Linz pick the movie tonight... "Margot At The Wedding"...hmmm. It's from the same director who made "The Squid and The Whale" which was interesting, but weird. I'm not that entertained right now. Bored. I did however order the new Mac Pro today. A buddy of mine got me %15 off towards the machine.

Well hang on one sec.... it appears John Turturro is in this movie.... this just got a little more interesting.

Hmmm - still nothing - I guess going to bed will be fun later. So bored. Rotten tomatoes gave this movie a %51. Figures - rotten tomatoes is pretty reliable in my opinion.

Ok... see ya later.

Memorial Day

I thought that posting more often would be a decent thing to do. My oldest sister blogs all the time and I feel like she does a great job letting family and friends know what's going on in her fam's world. 

No REAL news here. Just bored. Wondering how I'm going to make some money in the next few months. Typically summers are packed with things for musicians that end up being the lot of your income for the year. I however of course don't like the typical summer stuff. Mainly - camps. Ugh

I said no to three camps this year that would have been some great income. But, honestly - I'd rather be home with my wife hanging out at our home. Thank goodness she will make some money this summer. 

Oh yeah... I am growing a beard. I may put up a picture of that progress later. Maybe.

Today is an American holiday - ... I think? I am still in The Woodlands from playing on Sunday morning and I am so bored. Our new computer from the previous post isn't here yet - so I can't really work on a lot of things until that is here.

Anyways.... yeah

New Computer? Yes Please

So... there I was waiting for the two packages to arrive at my mother-in-laws house. (I have to have packages shipped there because my apartment complex is a UPS nightmare.) I grew even more anxious as I finally opened the newly rapped reason refill samples that I had so desperately wanted for months. One of the sample packages, (reason Pianos) was an amazing catalog of four highly esteemed pianos recorded and sampled with different mic positions and insert many adjectives about recording and engineering that you don't care about - here - .

The second package contained a similar set up. It is called The Abbey Road Keyboards which of course contained the same type of samples, but taken from the actual pianos that have called abbey road studios in England home since the Beatles recorded there. Not only the Challen upright piano and the Mrs. Mills piano found all over the Beatles records, but some other very cool instruments as well.

So I rushed home to load the samples on to my hard drive. I inserted the discs, followed all the right steps, and proceeded to fire up my Reason Software only to find that my shitty G4 Apple Powerbook was not fast enough to use the samples I was so anxiously awaiting.

SHIT! I was pissed to say the least. Of course my lovely and supportive wife charms in with the last comment I wanted to hear... "You should have made sure your computer could run those things before you bought them." I wanted to kill her... don't get carried away - you know what I mean.

So for the past month I've been crazily trying to make various tracks and songs with my new samples only to find I can only load very small amounts of samples into my sessions.

Anyways with all that said - Here comes my digital saviour - Being that I am an employee of a non-profit church he also comes to us %10 off of the regular price and tax free. That's right... Tax FREE.

Please welcome the (2) 2.8Ghz Quad Core Intel Xeon Harpertown Processor- 8 Core Mac PRO to the Snider Family.

Comedian or philosopher?

So I recently watched "Comedian", an independent documentary following the likes of Jerry Seinfeld after the hit TV show became syndicated and he made gobillions of dollars. Everyone wanted to know what he would do next... He started over doing stand-up using all new material going back to clubs in New York. Awesome...



If you haven't watched this movie then I would highly recommend you do so... especially if you are having trouble with your identity, job, happiness, life etc. etc. etc. if you are reading this then I will go ahead and tell you that YOU DO in fact fall in this category.

Fascinating thoughts from a guy who's made millions and been on stage a lot of his adult life. The movie also follows another comic,"Orny Adams" I think that was his name. Who, like Jerry, is trying his hand at stand-up, but is completely miserable. Mainly because he is too caught up in wanting fame and fortune to enjoy what he does. It's a really great parallel.

Jerry talks about watching some construction workers in New York "trudging" back to work after their lunch break. He talks about how ridiculous it is of him to complain about the difficulty of working the crowd, starting over with new material, and becoming a comic again when he's been doing and getting paid to do what he loves all the while the construction guys hate what they do.

The amazing thing when watching this movie is seeing this amazingly talented comedian sweat off stage and be nervous about coming out with new material and also watching him laugh and make fun of this other young guy (orny) who is completely miserable while HIS new career is just starting to take off.

Thinking about that makes me have a little bit more pride about playing at "Churches" - HA - By the way - Playing at church for me as much as I love being a part of the "worship" band (we are pretty damn good - probably the best band I have played in by far) and with a killer singer/songwriter... it's kind of like winning the special Olympics to a degree - please don't misunderstand me - I think you know what I'm getting at...

Anyways - chew on that!

Zach H Jared J and Brandon H

These three pictures are the latest additions to the list of artists I have been very fortunate to play with. 

First, (top) Zach Hendricks from the Houston area. Zach is an up and coming very young and very talented singer songwriter who I've been playing with since May of this year. Zach is going to do some great things very very soon. Zach is finishing a worship promo project and has his debut solo album in the works right now. Zach is a great artist and phenomenal worship leader. You can see Zach at The Woodlands United Methodist Church during the Harvest service at 9:15 in the main sanctuary.

myspace.com/zachhendricks

Jared Johnson (middle) is a singer songwriter from Nashville, TN. He is currently working for Craig Wiseman (country songwriter) at Craig's publishing company. Jared and I will be playing at "The Ranch" in Belton, TX on November the 3rd. Jared is an up and coming artist who you will absolutely be hearing about very very soon. He is very close to breaking through with some really great songs he has written. It's only a matter of time.

myspace.com/jaredjohnsonmusic

The third (bottom) is Christian artist Brandon Heath. Brandon has one of the most played songs on Christian radio right now "I'm Not Who I Was" off of his latest release "Don't Get Comfortable". I was fortunate enough to play with Brandon at The Woodlands United Methodist Church in The Woodlands, TX. Brandon is all over the radio and is a great guy and performer. If you haven't heard his music - you will soon - or just turn on your radio.

www.brandonheath.net

myspace.com/brandonheath

anyways

next you will hear about something even more exciting than these great opportunities

yes.... for those of you who know me..... THE 71s

Playing

It's been a while - I've had some new things happen since the last time I posted. My wife and I are now coming into our fourth month of marriage and it's amazing. God has blessed us in so many ways it's very humbling - or at least that's the way I feel when I recognize how he's working in our lives. I was recently let go from my old job at The Woodlands United Methodist Church. They went through some "downsizing" if you will. (the office) It kind of came at a good time for me - The end of August and September have been my two busiest months this year. I was just starting to get to work quite a bit in the Church's studio before they gave me the axe. But, that's life I guess.

Some good things have happened lately as well. I recently played with Sparrow recording artist Robbie Seay at his home church. His band - The "Robbie Seay Band" recently released their second album called "Give Yourself Away". His drummer Dan has recently moved to Dallas. Dan is still a full time member of the band, but Robbie has asked me to start playing at his home church, Ecclessia, on Sunday nights when he is in town. I'm not sure how much I will actually get to play, but either way it has been a great experience and opportunity for me to play with someone like Robbie. If you haven't heard his music - you should go and buy it - he is incredibly talented - a true - artist.


Robbie contacted me about filling in for Dan on their next leg of the tour - Dan caught pneumonia and is going to be out for possibly two weeks. I cleared my schedule and was excited about flying out to catch up with the band this coming tuesday, only to find out that they ended up calling another drummer - who happens to be a friend of mine in the area. I was bummed - but who wouldn't be? That's an experience of a life time - besides - the guy they hired is a killer drummer - his name is Michael Lisenbe.

During the past couple of years - I've gone through some rough periods where I doubted playing music, and I think the only thing that has gotten me through those slow times has been my close friends who have always encouraged me to follow my dream and to be patient.

My wife's sister Kathryn has been dating a musician from Nashville named Jared Johnson. Jared is a great guy to say the least and is also a songwriter under a publishing contract with Craig Wiseman's (Tim MgGraw: Live like you were dying - Everywhere and tons of other hits) company "Big Loud Shirt". Jared is an up and coming writer and is bound to hit the bigtime very very soon. It's been great getting to know Jared - he has some amazing songs and it's only a matter of time for him. I'm also going to be playing with Jared soon in Belton, TX - his home town on November the 3rd.

And last but not least - I've been playing with a band for almost the last two years. The band is called The 71's. Consisting of Micahel Coffman, Ryan Cecil, Jacob Lisenbe and myself - we have been working hard. Recently we were invited to perform and compete in a showcase for Word record label. Word is the christian label owned by Warner Brothers. We traveled to Nashville - picking up a friend to play bass along the way since our bassist Jacob was out playing with matt redmon. We played in nashville but didn't get chosen. Thus is life - eventhough we were way better than all of the other crap bands there.

Anyways - thats whats going on in my world.

Jay

One New Pic

April...May...JUNE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hardly ever post on this thing anymore, but I think I will start again. My birthday was last week (the 19th) and our (Lindsay and I) next shower for our wedding stuff is this weekend in the woodlands. I had some promo pictures taken yesterday and today|I will have to post those eventually - they should turn out really good.

Our studio at our church is almost finished and i've been mixing some tracks and working a little here and there on my AE skillz. I'm also hoping to work/gain experience at Robbie Seay's studio at Ecclesia (hyde park).

I'm about to move into downtown houston in june - that will be crazy. I will be near the rice university campus for lindsay. I guess I'll be going to more Astros game.

Lataz

J

pics

Late thoughts

I really don’t even know where to begin. My whole purpose in life is supposed to be about my relationship with a living god. Now there’s an interesting idea. A LIVING God. I think deep down we all recognize some innate being that we want to relate to or know about. Most of us who have experienced something like that have decided for ourselves what we think that is. With all the research and logic behind what we decide it is, I guess that it’s mostly based on experientialism. What I mean is the idea that I’ve experienced it and therefore it exists for me. Even though I do believe that as a Christian you don’t have to believe blindly, but at the end of the day it seems that doing just that is an important part of faith. But back to my original statement – my whole purpose in existence should be about somebody else, but I’m desperately trying to make it about me, my life, my desires, my dreams, you name it. And, after all of that being said I would also have to add that doing that has left me very empty. I guess my personal hurdle that I can’t seem to figure out how to break has been laziness. Typical I guess. Obviously the answer that most Christians would answer to “how do I break this cycle?” would be to ask God for help, change, a desire etc. And, for me I do believe I need to do that. I guess it’s an attempt to find a balance between my work and the miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit.

Well, I really want to play music. I love it. It’s hard. I’m going to bed.

Engagement

Well folks.... I'm engaged to be married. Her name is Lindsay Merrill. I'll try to put some pics up of the ring and my sweet bride to be.

Jay

Workkkkkkkkkkkk

My schedule is so odd - Sometimes I work 8a.m. til 1p.m. and then sometimes I work 5p.m. until 9p.m.

I'm at work sitting at the sound booth with Chris - he and I work together. It's traditional orchestra rehearsal tonight. My last post the other day was about possibly moving back to Little Rock - I may be an assistant golf professional for my dad. Not really the same as pursuing a career as a full time musician - it's kind of disappointing - but I still haven't decided for sure.

I'm trying to figure those things out. I'd like to keep playing music - but nothing has really come up lately. I guess I might have to stick it out and wait a little longer before throwing in the towel, but it's really difficult doing Sunday morning gigs all the time with different people at different places.

As of about two months ago - I quit playing for Bruce Clinton. Right now I just play for Matt Browuer and other churches.

My job pays well - but it sucks - crappy hours - no benefits - no OVERTIME!!!!! - I would say more but I would get into trouble.

Anyways

see ya

Jay

Aghhhhhh

I may move back to arkansas and work for my dad - giving up playing music full time - ha - that's an oxymoron "full-time musician".

Check out mattbrouwer.com

i tracked the b-sides album - i'm on
here i am again
tis so sweet
all i want
it is well

if anybody still reads this - awesome

love ya

Jay

Vacation Bible School

Treasure hunting adventures galor!!!!! Is that how you spell galor?

Is there anyone who still reads this thing?

- Jay

U.S. Military into Iran?

So - I'm always blogging about myself so I decided to talk about something else.

Most people by now have been hearing rumors about Iran and their attempt to enrich uranium for use in possible nuclear weapons. The UN deadline is soon or already passed and now that the U.S. is in Iraq we have troops on both sides of the Iranian border. This is just an observation, but that seems really scary to me. Iran is not little and their military is much larger and much more organized.

I also happened to see "united 93". Which made me angry. I also thought during that movie about the idea of redemptive violence. For instance - how would Jesus tell us to deal with terrorists on a suicide hijacked plane. That may be a stupid road to go down, but it still made me think. Would he be pleased if I was to hurt one of them? and possibly save the lives of others?

Sick Again

I'm always sick.

I'm moving into a new house.

I'm going to be paying $67 in rent instead of $160

I will still have a pool, but I'll have my own bathroom and a real room.

Hooray

Abilene - I forgot what West Texas is almost like

Well - I'm in Abilene Texas with Matt Brouwer. We are currently leading worship for some kind of Nazerene Youth sports camp type of sorts. Yippy

As most of you know or have heard; I am dating a girl named Lindsay Merrill. She is great. I could describe her to you in detail, but it really isn't worth it. Just know she is amazing and I am lucky to be with her.

West Texas - I do believe we are directly above San Antonio. So, we aren't completely in west Texas, but we are pretty close. Not to take anything away from where my parents are from, but wow it is dreary, dry, and grey.

I am ready to get back.

Our church is building a recording studio and I am getting excited. It should be really cool.

Lataz

J

Another week another sunday

Not a lot going on in my world recently. Still working at a not-so exciting job, but still a great job. I am slowly learning some valuable things. Two days ago I learned how to solder. It was a great experience. Hopefully I can get my photoshop/illustrator/indesign skills back up to par.

I have realized how much easier my life would be with a trailer. I would really like a Pace American "journey". It is a really small trailer but costs about $3,000. I just don't have the money. It would be amazing if I had one. I am currently tearing up the inside of my blazer in order to haul my drums around.

My friend Jacob returned home a couple of days ago from tour with Chris Tomlin. Meeting Jacob has been such a blessing. He is such a genuine friend and has allowed me to meet some great people. I still haven't found an artist that is touring or asking me to play full time. I know that playing full time for someone is a little far fetched, but I am still hoping.

Matt Brouwer has asked me to play a couple of dates with him this next week. He is doing two outdoor concerts that are being sponsored by KSBJ - which is a local Christian radio station.

Well - it is official - I am horrible at foosball. I am yet to beat my girlfriend (Lindsay) - and she now refuses to play with me because I am such an unpleasant loser. She says I am ungraceful.

I will admit - I am a horrible loser.

Where are you Grove?

Well - after being here for about nine months it is official.

The Grove Church is amazing and I miss it a lot.

As I was roaming my itunes as I usually do at some point during each week, I thought to myself; "I wonder what the Grove church is up to." And so, I went to the Grove's website to see what was going on and to my amazement - I discovered that the Grove is podcasting!!!! So, you guys should let Kent know that I am listening to his talks online and that I wouldn't have made fun of him about his gap shirt still having the sticker attached to it - back on the 2ncd of January.

I really miss all of you guys a lot. I miss my community group - Someone tell Roger that he is great and I want to see him soon. Jason Miller and I will be getting together for a conference during April in Waco so that will be cool.

As far as music goes - I am playing for Matt Brouwer and Bruce Clinton on Sunday mornings. I'm doing a little bit of recording for a few other people. I have gotten to play with some really great players down here and as I wrote up my resume I realized how lucky I have been.

For instance:

Bass players I have played with:(if you haven't heard of these bands then go check them out!)

1. Jacob Lisenbe - Currently touring with Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman
2. Russell Wedelich - matt brouwer
3. Ryan Owens - Robbie Seay Band
4. James Colvin - Inhabited
5. Travis Brockway - Waterdeep

By the way - none of these guys hold anything to CHRIS TUCKER

Basically - these guys are really really good - I am so lucky

Go say hello to Jacob when they play in Fayetteville this weekend the 12th - he and I were planning to get an apartment together. He will be playing bass for tomlin and redman.

Lata

Pictures from X-mas Eve Service

These are some pictures that our bass player's wife took durig our xmas eve service.

Weird

I found two of my three bibles today! Praise the Lord.

And to follow a previous post since I realized I hadn't said anything in a while.

The girl I supposedly took on a date didn't know it was a date and told me had she known she would have said no.

I am reverting back to my previous statement that girls are ridiculous.








.....................ridiculous

The Explanation

I wanted to at least say a little bit about my most recent ventures.

I went on my first date of 2005 (maybe I shouldn't admit that) a couple of weeks ago. Her name is Abby. She is very sweet, intelligent, and a lot of fun to hang out with/ not to mention very pretty. We went to a restaraunt called Cheesecake Factory.

In this last adventure I have come to realize a couple of things. For one - Only now can I say that most girls are right to assume that most guys are lazy/crazy because they usually don't ever muster the courage to ask anyone out. And secondly, that given the chance, girls will usually let guys know how they feel if they will simply be patient enough.

Even though my last date was a one time thing, I appreciated her willingness to give me a chance, and also to say no when she could have avoided it.

I think that I am simply too impatient. What I mean is that - I expect the answers far too quickly.

Anyways - despite my previous posts - my hat is off to her.

And if you are reading this abby - I hope I am not embarrassing you. You are great.

I think Brett was right

Girls are ok.........sometimes.......when they aren't being themselves............ok just kidding.


I think I will have my first visitor from Fayetteville here today. If so then I will post a picture.

Cool

later

Sore throats and J.R. Cash

I saw the movie "Walk the Line" last week and enjoyed it. I didn't think it was the best movie I had ever seen, but I thought it was good.

My throat is sore but I'm not necessarily sick. I feel like I haven't talked to God in months. I am finding it hard to get into the word. If you get a chance, could you please pray for me. I need to get focused or have some alone time with the Lord.

I've been very downcast lately and think it is stemming from a lack of spiritual feeding.

Anyways, maybe I will talk to some of you soon.

A question for girls

My question is this:

If you (a girl) are not interested in a guy and he asks you to go out - do you do the following:

1. Give him an excuse why you can't go out with him. The excuse can be anything - from "sorry, I already have plans" to something more specific.
2. Tell him "no thanks" straight up or that you aren't interested
3. Not call him back when he calls and leaves messages or avoid talking to/ ignore him.

I would like to know.

Thanks

Bla

I haven't written anything in a while so I thought I would say something.

I'm really tired - I've been writing new songs - recording new stuff - figuring out what I am going to do with drumming and other stuff as well.

I'm still thinking a whole lot about the church and our leadership and stuff. I had the opportunity to talk to quite a few people and am still figuring things out. I'd like to go into more detail but it's really just pointless and most people already have their own opinions about this sort of thing. But, all I will say is I am searching for answers out of scripture - I don't really want any ONE person's take - I want their "take" on what they have read from scripture.

girls are such a mess by the way - I don't even want to talk about it.

lata

Something New

So... We had staff meeting today and our church has hired a new pastor. She will be joining our teaching pastors soon and needless to say I am uneasy and without peace.

I am confused as to what to do. It is obvious there are two different schools of thought as to how church leadership and positions concerning deacons and elders should be. I will admit that I am not a greek scholar or a seminary graduate but have read the bible and am trying to figure out what it is that is important.

I'm trying to understand the reasons behind certain passages. It's hard because I know I will take a lot of heat from my friends down here if I leave. But, I also know that I must do what is right. I'm not condemning churches with women pastors or saying that I know better than them, but at some point I must make a decision for myself.

I have been living here since the end of May - so about five or so months. I finally have a job that is steady and am slowly meeting new people to play music with. I don't know what to do if I decide I need to leave.

I have always missed fayetteville - maybe the Grove is where I need to be. I don't know. The other problem I am facing is that arkansas just doesn't have the same pool of artists etc. I feel like I will be giving up on playing music full time if I leave.

I don't know.

David Crowder* and Jeremy Bush

Most of you know who David Crowder is but most of you probably don't know who jeremy bush is.

Well before I get to jeremy I will just say that the Crowder show last night was just as good as it was in Little Rock.

Jeremy is crowder's drummer a.k.a. Bwack - he and I got to chat after the show until everyone in the building except the cleaning crew were gone. The cleaning crew and my friends who were patiently waiting on me. He is a very genuine guy. We talked about a possible "gathering" in Waco at the end of April for guys on jeremy's forum. We discussed a whole lot of aspects about it - as far as what would take place - who would be invited and depending upon numbers - if we could get m-audio, roland, and other product makers like SHURE, propellerhead, or ableton to showcase their products for a lower price.

It was a really cool conversation because nobody in close proximity to me does the same stuff or is into the same stuff and the forum is great but not real-time. Meaning that it's like learning how to ride a bike by reading emails that someone is sending you. Only you can only ask a few questions at a time and as new problems come up you have to ask new questions.

So in other words it takes forever. So we (jeremy and I) want to have a showcase/seminar weekend where guys can figure out what works best for them (keep in mind this whole thing I am talking about concerns programming, live-setup, loops/tracks, and guitars, synths, amps, drums, circuit bending - you name it)

It is really exciting and really cool.

I am now on a VERY SMALL first name basis with crowder and tomlin's drummer. If someone would have told me that six months ago I probably would have laughed and said "well, that WOULD be cool" but anyways.

I'm excited!

U2 Tickets!! and Playing WIth Matt This morning

So I just got home from playing at church this morning and had a realization.

I realized t hat I have tickets to U2 next friday.

On another note we played a song called "I shall believe" which I think was first written by Sheryl Crow and then Matt Brouwer (who I played with this morning) re-did it on his latest album "unlearning" which is being played regularly on Christian radio in Houston and in California. It has been one of the most requested songs on Christian radio and it was just cool to get to play it with him. In fact - the first time that particular song was played on the radio - I was in the car with him and we both tuned in together. That may seem cheasy but I thought it was cool considering I am nobody and he is somebody in Christian music.

Anyways - hope everyone is well.

- Jay

Elizabeth Town and a Girl From Texas - More Than I Could Have Expected or Guessed From Both

I usually always start my posts with the word "so". So, I saw Elizabeth town which I believe received mixed reviews - I for one am not a fan of poorly done movies with cheesy acting BUT this particular movie - wins my "movie of the year" award. The soundtrack alone was amazing - I bought it off of itunes as soon as I got home. I think my favorite song is "My father's gun" by Sir Elton. Most of my friends know that I love movies and I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I usually keep very low expectations for movies - that way the chances are smaller that I will be horribly let down.

So apart from the movie - I am playing music tomorrow at some bar-b-q thing and then rehearsing afterwards with another guy named matt brouwer www.mattbro.com and then playing at church on Sunday with matt.

I am also in the process of getting a press-kit together to market myself for a possible audition with a girl power pop rock band called EVERLIFE. That is a whole other blog.

Now to what I really wanted to talk about. For some of you - you may not care to read this part for you may get to the end and be like "what? or so what? or what next? or who cares?" but anyways

So there was this girl I happen to catch a glimpse of during a women's bible study at my church. She appeared to be my age and I thought to myself "Hey, there's a girl that looks my age and apparently spends her time at bible study." So for whatever reason I decided I would meet her. How I would meet her was still a question. So I asked the nice lady who I had gotten to know slightly through working at this bible study who she was and that I had noticed she was my age. - I was pretty much a dead give away - Hopefully this particular girl won't read this - but if she does then HEY! THERE _ I hope you aren't embarrassed. She really won't read this though.

So then I met another girl at the church that actually roomed with her in college. I also made the mistake of mentioning the fact that I had a slight desire to meet this girl in hearing distance of my boss John who loves to tell everyone everything. So all of the ladies at the bible study knew that I wanted to meet this girl. I also found out that pretty much everyone who worked at the church knew as well and all felt it necessary to give me a hard time about it.

Ok - I'm skipping now because I am tired - so I met her finally and that was great - the next step was to get to know her - skip skip skip skip bla bla bla - A group of us go to the movies - she is there - She comes over to the house after the movie with friends

She DOESN'T even give me THE TIME OF DAY!!!

I felt awesome.

That has been the most recent occurrence in the life of Jay.

She wouldn't even let me talk to her enough to even get the chance to say "hey you wanna go get some coffee some time???" oh no my friends - it was more like

GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!! in silence

So to say the least - after seeing a movie like Elizabeth town - I wanted to go cry in a corner -

Not really.....................But seriously

Cool things, Gigs, and being sick (yuck)

First of all - I apologize for any fellow musicians/worship leaders that are offended by me using the term (gig). Anyways, I have been (booked) - if you will- to play close to 20 dates between now and Mid-December and hopefully will get a lot more than that. So that is a plus - BUT I'M SICK!!!!

On another note - I am doing this "cleanse" where I can only eat fruits, Veggies, water, green tea, fish, rice milk, some bread and cereal and it's all ORGANIC and very very EXPENSIVE. The cleanse are just these pills you take in the morning and at night - the detoxifying has made me feel like crap for the last two days but I am starting to feel better today. But I'm still sick - I hate being sick.

This is a side story - I was driving with Matt brouwer to play retreat for our church (sixth graders!! yea!!) this last weekend and a cover on his new album unlearning that was originally written by Sheryl Crow called "I shall believe" played for the first time on KSBJ in houston which is supposed to be the largest Christian radio network in the U.S. It was a cool moment - he also made number 1 for the station's Tuesday night takeover which was pretty cool. I thought to myself "hey I play with this guy sometimes.... cool".

Anyways I don't think I have left anything off.

Oh wait - we got a 62" inch hitachi big screen for free two days ago _ HOW SWEET IS THAT - I'll put up a picture!!!

Lataz

J

Sarah Mclachlan Is amazing

I don't know why I never got into her. I just bought "mirror ball" off of itunes and matt (brouwer) let me borrow his dvd of mirror ball - her husband/drummer is amazing - he is my new inspiration for practice, style, and groove. I am gettting to play a lot more music now. It has been a good few weeks. This weekend I am playing today and tomorrow with Matt Brouwer and then leading worship on Sunday with him. I am also sitting in for a band called "spoken for" - I am also getting some gigs with this guy named Justin Johnston - he is really talented. And then I am also getting to play with another worship leader I met named John Cordes from Katy. I am still hoping to get to play with Lauren James she has some great material and a lot of potential to do something amazing so I am hoping that I might get an audition. I talked to her guitar player the other day (david howard) and he had said that she had metioned something so we'll see.......

I am playing a lot more now - but it's amazing to me - i don't seem to have much money. Go figure.

I hope everyone is well.